Mar 164 min read

From Dishwasher to Chef

"Hey Ma,"

"Thanks for the last letter and the new set of knives! I promise I’ll be careful when I use them. And no, I didn’t need that list of local clockwork engineers - I haven’t managed to cut my hand off, thank you."

"They stopped making me do all the dishes and stuff now! They’re finally letting me make stuff, which is nice. Sure, I’m only handling small stuff, but I’m making progress! The head chef was the one that showed me how to make our greyberry jam, and soon he’ll start showing me how to make decent loaves of bread. I’ve mostly been put in charge of the smaller stuff for now since I’m still pretty new, but I’ve been enjoying it a lot. Mashing up the greyberries is very messy, but it’s also very therapeutic to be allowed to smash something up, especially when the other chefs would always yell at me for not doing the dishes fast enough. It’s not my fault they cook like mad people!" "I swear, they hold a carrot in their hand, and in the next second it’s been sliced into perfect chunks and chucked into a pot to cook with about five others! It’s quite daunting to think that I’ll need to replicate those skills to be a fully-fledged chef, but I know they’re that good because of the hard work that they’ve put in. I’m excited to work on the proper meals, though. I know they’ll likely start me off on the simple stuff like the salads, but it’ll be nice to have a bit more responsibility in the kitchen. Hopefully, it’ll also come with a raise because it’s been kinda hard getting by on a dishwasher salary." "I’ve been practicing cooking on my own too, though it’s mostly just been me working on gyrdstrog meat. I struggle with getting the temperatures right, so I tend to work on figuring out how it feels to cook a proper medium-rare steak when you touch the meat. I’ve also been trying to work on my plating, but I still need to be faster at it. The head chef is the most critical about that out of all my skills, since he always insists that every dish looks perfect every time. Working at a high-class restaurant means there are some unrealistic standards, alright. Sometimes I think about just coming back to work in the tavern, but I know I want to be a real pioneer in the culinary world!" "The pastry chef makes me some food every once in a while so that I can save money, and the pancakes that she makes me are incredible! And the Eton mess is to die for. I think we might both have crushes on each other, but I’ve been trying to make sure that it doesn’t get in the way of the work. I don’t wanna start any rivalries or make the kitchen uncomfortable for anyone. No reason why I can’t keep taking the food though! I’ve also been watching the head chef whenever he has to cook something special for the more fancy folk that pass through the restaurant. The dishes that she manages to make look incredible, smell amazing, and probably taste even better! They’re also great for the bank account if the profit statements are to be believed. " "Still, I don’t feel like I can learn a lot from the head or sous chefs unless they’re deliberately teaching me - if I try to watch them while they’re working in the kitchen, it’s like a blur. Their hands and minds move too fast for me to actually keep up with them. Despite that, I’ve been taught how to debone fish and meat, so they’ve also started to make me do some of the preparations before we start serving meals!" "It’s very unnerving, knowing that if I screw up someone might start choking on a fish bone, but I’ve done a good job so far. No one’s died from my work yet, which is nice. That might be because the other chefs also check my work, but I don’t think they’ve had any cause for concern - I’m sure I’d’ve heard about it if they did." "Overall, it’s been pretty stressful working here, but I am enjoying it! I think the pressure is really helping me shine and bring out my potential. Hopefully, the other chefs see it too because I’ve been putting in as much effort as I can. I might try making some pancakes for you and dad so that you two can see how much progress I’ve made! I know I used to always set the food on fire, but I only do that once out of every fifteen times or so! "